Massey University’s Molecular Epidemiology and Public Health Laboratory (mEpiLab) is located within the Hopkirk Research Institute on the Palmerston North campus and is jointly led by Professor David Hayman and Associate Professor Jackie Benschop. Professor Nigel French is the executive director.

Our mission is to improve the health of New Zealanders by developing and applying new techniques to inform decision making and guide the prevention and control of infectious disease.

mEpiLab and the EpiCentre form an OIE collaborating Centre for Veterinary Epidemiology and Public Health. Our research has improved our understanding of the epidemiology, evolution and control of agents of infectious disease and contributed to major reductions in the rates of foodborne disease in New Zealand. The team comprises scientists with expertise in the fields of epidemiology, microbiology, molecular biology, bioinformatics/computational biology, mathematical modelling, veterinary science and public health. We work closely with collaborators in the Crown Research Institutes (AgResearch, ESR, NIWA), regional public health units and other groups across Massey University on pathogens such as Campylobacter, Salmonella, E. coli, Leptospira, Cryptosporidium and Giardia. We develop and apply epidemiological and evolutionary models to understand sources and pathways of human infection, and inform control strategies.

News :

Jackie Benschop : More than $1m secured in HRC funding to reduce burden of leptospirosis

A mEpiLab-led study has been awarded $1,199,841 from the latest Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) funding round to undertake a nationwide case-control study of the disease leptospirosis. A common workplace hazard in New Zealand’s agricultural sector, leptospirosis can cause disease and death in animals. ... Read more

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Last updated on Thursday 05 December 2019